Publication Abstracts

Li et al. 2013

Li, L., R.K. Achterberg, B.J. Conrath, P.J. Gierasch, M.A. Smith, A. Simon-Miller, C.A. Nixon, G.S. Orton, F. Flasar, X. Jiang, K.H. Baines, R. Morales-Juberias, A.P. Ingersoll, A.R. Vasavada, A.D. Del Genio, R.A. West, and S.P. Ewald, 2013: Strong temporal variation over one Saturnian year: From Voyager to Cassini. Sci. Rep., 3, 2410, doi:10.1038/srep02410.

Here we report the combined spacecraft observations of Saturn acquired over one Saturnian year (∼29.5 Earth years), from the Voyager encounters (1980-81) to the new Cassini reconnaissance (2009-10). The combined observations reveal a strong temporal increase of tropic temperature (∼10 Kelvins) around the tropopause of Saturn (i.e., 50 mbar), which is stronger than the seasonal variability (∼a few Kelvins). We also provide the first estimate of the zonal winds at 750 mbar, which is close to the zonal winds at 2000 mbar. The quasi-consistency of zonal winds between these two levels provides observational support to a numerical suggestion inferring that the zonal winds at pressures greater than 500 mbar do not vary significantly with depth. Furthermore, the temporal variation of zonal winds decreases its magnitude with depth, implying that the relatively deep zonal winds are stable with time.

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BibTeX Citation

@article{li04600n,
  author={Li, L. and Achterberg, R. K. and Conrath, B. J. and Gierasch, P. J. and Smith, M. A. and Simon-Miller, A. and Nixon, C. A. and Orton, G. S. and Flasar, F. and Jiang, X. and Baines, K. H. and Morales-Juberias, R. and Ingersoll, A. P. and Vasavada, A. R. and Del Genio, A. D. and West, R. A. and Ewald, S. P.},
  title={Strong temporal variation over one Saturnian year: From Voyager to Cassini},
  year={2013},
  journal={Sci. Rep.},
  volume={3},
  pages={2410},
  doi={10.1038/srep02410},
}

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RIS Citation

TY  - JOUR
ID  - li04600n
AU  - Li, L.
AU  - Achterberg, R. K.
AU  - Conrath, B. J.
AU  - Gierasch, P. J.
AU  - Smith, M. A.
AU  - Simon-Miller, A.
AU  - Nixon, C. A.
AU  - Orton, G. S.
AU  - Flasar, F.
AU  - Jiang, X.
AU  - Baines, K. H.
AU  - Morales-Juberias, R.
AU  - Ingersoll, A. P.
AU  - Vasavada, A. R.
AU  - Del Genio, A. D.
AU  - West, R. A.
AU  - Ewald, S. P.
PY  - 2013
TI  - Strong temporal variation over one Saturnian year: From Voyager to Cassini
JA  - Sci. Rep.
VL  - 3
SP  - 2410
DO  - 10.1038/srep02410
ER  -

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